In the Light of Darkness
by FandomstuckIsLife
Summary: After nearly losing his life on the seventh night of his occupation, Mike Schmidt finds himself confronted with a tangled web of lies concerning the truth behind Freddy Fazbear's Pizza and the corrupt franchise under which it works for. Abetted only by his former enemies, Mike bands together with the animatronics and they form an unlikely bond in their struggle for justice.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: Hello there! This story is originally based off of a Five Night's at Freddy's AU my roleplay partner Hunter Mikaelson and I decided to do together on Skype, and since we were using script format but also integrated paragraph into it, I figured it would be summarily easy to change it into a story format for everyone's reading pleasure. ^^ Keep in mind though that since the roleplay hasn't been completed yet that there is a high probability of this story falling into hiatus within the course of a few days, but it won't exceed that unless the rp has been completely abandoned or something happens to either us of on the other side of this screen. In any case, we hope you enjoy it and we're looking forward to any questions, comments or concerns. Thank you!

**Disclaimer**: Five Nights at Freddy's belongs to its developer Scott Cawthon and was released by Desura. I do not own any of the characters or the settings save for the ones designed specifically for this AU.

**Chapter 1**

10%, 9%...

The power was slowly being depleted by the usage of the hallway lights and closing of doors. Mike glanced back up from the cameras and looked at the stretch of blackness in the empty corridors outside the entry ways leading to the security guard's office.

7%, 6%...

Oh god, it just turned 5 AM thirty four minutes ago and he was already way below the minimum amount of power needed to ensure his survival. 4%, 3%, any time now and he would be unerringly met with his dismal fate.

Foxy had been watching him closely. He didn't know how much power he had left but he knew he was getting lower than what he should be at. He didn't know this new night guard. He didn't have to. They were all the same. He hated every last one of them. He peeked out from the curtain for a few minutes before taking off at a high speed down the hallway, heading straight for the security room. He knew that despite the night guard shutting the door, he would still lose quite a bit of power if he ran into it. And Freddy would be quick to get there as soon as the power shut off.

The telltale sound of metallic feet thumping on the black and white tiled floor caused the night watchman's hairs to stand on end, a chill running down his spine when he saw that Pirate's Cove was deserted, which could only mean one thing. He looked up and quickly slammed his hand on both of the control panels on the walls, closing the doors immediately despite the power level already being on 3%. No, no, he wasn't getting out this time. Mike bit down on his lower lip and stood up, backing away against the wall which was farthest from the doors.

2%, 1%...

There was no denying it, he was definitely a goner.

Foxy had gotten to the door just as the power went out. He chuckled quietly to himself. He stood just outside the door, barely visible without the lights while simply waiting for Freddy to show up. A few seconds later, the lights from Freddy's eyes and mouth could be seen in the doorway. He grinned at the night watchman. He was going to make him pay. Even if he wasn't the one who made them into slaves, he wanted revenge and he didn't care who it was on. He stepped closer into the room, only about five feet away from Mike, trying to intimidate him.

Despite the darkness, the brunette could clearly see the flickering lights from the main leader of the animatronics' eyes. The sight of the glaring, cold illumination caused tears to well up in his own and the night watchman pressed himself further back against the wall, legs trembling as he slowly slid down onto the floor, eyes wide and vision blurring. "P-P-Please, I'm not an exoskeleton, I'm a human!" Foxy had stepped into the room by now, leaning against the wall. "Oh, we know. But you work for those damn factories." He growled out the words. Freddy turned to him and told him to shut up. He took a step closer, leaning down. Eyes still flickering in the darkness. "We know what you do. And you're going to pay for it."

Mike stared up at them, terror and shock written over his face as he hugged his legs tightly and fought to keep his voice from quavering. " N-No, please I want to live!" It cracked at the end and tears slid down his cheeks, face pale. "I-I don't even know what factories you're talking about! I just w-want to go h-home!" He glanced at the telephone which had been inactive since the fifth night, fighting to hold back a sob. "I-If you s-stuff me in one of your s-suits, you might k-kill me you know? I-It wasn't made for humans, please let me go and I'll j-just save the phone guy from the Employee's room and leave and never come back!" The brunette was wrought with fear and he pressed his back further against the wall, desperately trying to stay out of reach from the animatronics towering over him.

Freddy rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed with the man's antics. "Shut up, night guard. You're all the same. You come in here at night and watch us, not even bothering to help. Then during the day, you create more of us to use as slaves. You're all disgusting and deserve to die." Foxy tilted his head, confused as to why the man was denying knowing about any factories. "Freddy, wait." He stepped closer to Mike, even closer than Freddy and kneeled down. "Don't lie to us. You know what factory we are talking about. If you didn't, then why do you work here?"

"I-I-I needed the m-money, that's w-why...!" He let out a wail. "That's why I endured seven nights of hell here, just for the money! I don't know anything about this place or any factories, so please let me go!" The brunette's shaking was uncontrollable and his voice trembled to no avail. Chica peeked inside the office before moving in quietly with one of the spare Freddy suits in tow, her own lights flickering. "What's taking so long? We usually get this over with quickly." Freddy growled and shook his head. "Foxy is taking his sweet ol' time. Asking the man questions. I say enough. We kill him now."

The fox robot in disrepair shook his head and stepped in front of the man. "Wait. I believe him. He has no clue what we are talking about. Don't kill him. Not yet."

"Y-Yeah, I really don't! You can ask any of my college friends and they'll agree I'm the most honest one in our group!" The night watchman was astonished- the fox robot was helping him? "I know a far easier way to settle this. Why don't we question him? Then we can see whether he's telling the truth or not?" Chica smirked at the once again horrified expression on the brunette's face at her words. Freddy thought about it for a few seconds then nodded. "Yes, alright. That sounds good. Chica, go get Bonnie and we will go from there. Hopefully we will be able to settle this."

Foxy sighed and stood up, leaning against the wall. As much as he hated all the night guards, he didn't want to kill someone who was innocent of their situation. He did have morals, after all. Only kill the ones who put them and others of their kind into slavery. "Alright." The female chicken robot left the suit in the office and hurried off, finding Bonnie not so far off from the office.

"W-Wait, what?!" Mike's eyes widened and he glanced back and forth fervently from the faces of each animatronic. "Y-You're not going to i-interrogate me, right?! That's crazy, you guys are robots! You c-can't know about- I m-mean it's unrealistic...!" Foxy shook his head and looked down. "Just keep your trap shut for now. We know what we are doing, and it really isn't unrealistic if you even knew us. But, you know. None of the night guards ever tried to get to know us. They all deserved to die."

"Every. Last. One of them." Freddy chuckled darkly to himself, sitting down on the chair that Mike was sitting in before they entered the room. "H-How can you know what you're doing?! O-Oh god, I'm finally going insane now, right? Haha, yeah, that has to be it! N-None of this is real, it can't be real! R-Robots don't talk, they can't walk! Hahaha!" Mike gripped his head in both hands, staring at the floor in disbelief as Chica returned with Bonnie and stood by Foxy's side. "Remind me again why we're taking the time to actually talk to a night guard?"

"Because I want to. Got a problem with that? I don't want to kill someone if he doesn't deserve it. What if he is telling the truth and he doesn't know about the factories?" Foxy replied, still gazing down at the brunette. "This is really weird though. We have never done something like this before." Bonnie commented as all four animatronics watched the distraught human cowering away from them on the floor. Freddy just laughed. "Oh, you poor soul. Thinking this is all just a dream and when you wake up we will be gone. How wrong you are. Oh, how wrong you are. And I don't even feel a bit sorry for you. You pathetic piece of trash."

"N-No, none of this is real! It's not real, it's not, it's not!" Mike screamed, curling up on the floor. "I-It's not...!" His heart pounded, beating rapidly as if it was about to burst out of his chest and tears continued to streak down his already stained cheeks. Chica nodded in agreement. "I know, but still. We didn't do this for the one before him."She looked over to the grizzly bear animatronic. "Freddy, what should we do?"

"I guess we question him. It can't cause any harm, now can it? I mean... He is already freaked the fuck out and thinking this isn't real."

Foxy sighed. "Honestly, guys. Can we just hurry this up? This is getting ridiculous. Ask the poor man some questions."

"Okay. I have one. What's your name, night guard?" Bonnie asked as she and Chica turned their gazes back to the terrified human expectantly, clearly anticipating his answer.

"I-I-It's M-Mike Schmidt..." The brunette whimpered, looking up at the rabbit through his blurred vision. He remembered vaguely that he used to like Bonnie back when he was a little kid, before he heard about the bite of '87. He used to like all of the animatronics... But his parents refused to bring him back after the two incidents which tainted the place's reputation. Years later, after falling on hard times Mike sought out the pizzeria in the hopes of earning some cash to pay off his student loan debts.

Freddy looked thoughtful. "Hmm... So, Mike. Where did you work before this? Have you ever worked on animatronics before becoming as a night guard here? I'm honestly quite curious as to what you did." He chuckled, obviously trying to be intimidating yet coming off as caring- which was quite creepy to be honest. Foxy however simply narrowed his eyes and watched the man carefully. He was almost one hundred percent sure that he had nothing to do with other animatronics.

Despite the bear robot's slightly threatening inquiry, Mike lowered his gaze, eyes softening a bit as he quietly shook his head. "T-The last place I worked at was-" He stopped, memories rushing through his mind. "I-It was at another restaurant. I used to be a dishwasher, but..." The night watchman bit down on his lower lip before going on. "I didn't want to work there anymore despite my parents, and we had a fight before I could quit. T-They died the next day... Freak accident, they say. A truck r-rammed into them when they were walking together and killed them i-instantly..." Mike kept his gaze fixed on the floor, the stark images of that day flooding through his mind and causing even more tears to fall. It was just three years ago when it happened, and he still found himself haunted by the memory as the events unfolded.

" ... They left me everything as well as the house in their will, but I used most of my money on college... Which is why I'm working here, since they pay $120 for five days, and I earned the same amount plus 50 more cents yesterday for staying a sixth night..."

Foxy listened carefully to what the night guard had to say. He knew that Mike was telling the truth and was hoping that Freddy could realize it too. He didn't want this guy to get killed for nothing. The grizzly bear animatronic narrowed his eyes at the man. He wasn't sure whether he believed him or not. He thought about it for a few minutes before nodding. "Okay. So you don't work for the factories..."

"N-No, I don't! I don't know anything about any kind of factory!" The night watchman looked at them fearfully, still shaking and on the verge of sobbing if they so much as reached out for him. Chica looked at Bonnie and back at the terrified man. "Well, there's our answer. Now what do we do with him?"

"I guess we let him live...? I don't know. What do we do with him, Freddy?" Bonnie looked to the head animatronic who tilted his head, watching the man a bit more. "We let him live. Maybe he can help us. He could do more than we can." Foxy sighed quietly in relief, grinning a bit. "How could he help us? I mean... What are we even trying to accomplish?"

Mike blanched, mind reeling towards the worst case scenario. "Y-You don't mean you want me to stuff other security guards in suits?! I-I can't do that, that's virtually murder!" The brunette was close to fainting- this night was certainly the most horror stricken one there was! He thought back to a time when he was still a kid, remembering the bright colors, happy songs and smiling faces on the ever cheerful animatronics during the day amidst a crowd of children and their parents either walking around through the diner or while standing on stage. Never in his life would the night watchman have thought that these happy mascots could be capable of hunting people down at night and killing them.

"What? No. We do not want you to kill people. We need you to help us... We are slaves for this company. We were created for the sole purpose of others' enjoyment. They treat us like dirt. Force us into this life against our will. And they are still making more like us out there! They are torturing us! You don't understand anything that goes on in here... If you did, you would help stop it." Foxy nodded. "He is right... We only kill the people who work for the monsters. They know who they are working for yet they choose to ignore the damage they are causing... I'm tired... I'm so tired of doing the same thing day after day... You can see how torn I am... They haven't even attempted to help me."

The night watchman slowly sat up, still keeping his distance from the animatronics, staring at them in shock and confusion. "W-What...? What do you mean? Slaves? I-I thought you guys were possessed or something..." Chica frowned. "We may have been stuffed with children's bodies, but we have a life of our own. If anything, that's further proof that the management here could care less about us." Bonnie looked at her sadly. Every animatronic has their own life. We are all alive. We all have our own personalities and thoughts and we're all unique like you. Like any other humans. We are just as alive as you are... We have feelings too."

Freddy stood up and nodded* "So. We need help in saving our kind. Being forced into this life isn't right. And you're going to help stop it. And possibly, if you can, help fix Foxy... He is the most damaged of us all."

"O-Oh, so you were always sentient... Even since way back then...?" Mike didn't appear to be so afraid- at least not to the extent he was before, and listened to their words carefully, realization finally dawning on him. "I-I'll do my best, but I don't have the money to take the company to court." He thought deeply for a moment, eyes naturally glancing over at the clock which read 5:56 AM, remembering the story of the Bite of '87 distinctly in his head. "I'll see what I can do, but-" The alarm sounded then, indicating it was now 6:00 AM. "I have to go now, bye!" Without looking back, the night watchman bolted, shoving past the animatronics and dashed down the hall to the front entrance of the pizzeria just as the city lights turned on. He threw open the door and locked it before racing away from the restaurant and into his car, turning on the ignition as he drove away to his home just as the dawn lit up the sky.

Chica was caught off guard when she was shoved aside, but caught her balance as she watched the human make his getaway. "Now we've done it. He might tell someone and get this place shut down! And we all know we'll be separated once the company gets a hold of this!" Bonnie reached out and caught and Chica, steadying her. "He won't... He better not! I don't want to get separated from you guys! We are family..." Foxy had ran to the door after Mike, watching the night guard run to his car and drive away. This was the first time he had actually wanted to help someone that wasn't like them. He hoped he was actually going to help them. But all of his hope disappeared when he ran off... He felt awful now. They should have just killed him.

Freddy frowned. "No. He won't dare to tell." Chica hugged the purple rabbit animatronic tightly. "I don't want to leave any of you!" She looked at Freddy and Foxy with anguish. "The next time we see him, we have to kill him. At least we can make him pay for betraying us!"

"Exactly! He will pay for this. And it will be even more painful than anyone before him." Bonnie hugged Chica back just as tight, keeping her close. It was no secret that they were in a relationship. "Yes. With him... We will torture him before we kill him. He deserves it. He deserves so much worse than what we gave him." Freddy agreed. Foxy only stood there listening for a bit before silently sneaking away and walking slowly back down to Pirates Cove. He didn't really want to talk to anyone or hear about hurting Mike.

There was light in the sky by the time that the night watchman reached his home. He closed the blinds and locked his door before taking his laptop and headed upstairs into his room. He knew there must be some way he could help the animatronics, but he would have to do some research first.


	2. Chapter 2

Mike had fallen asleep within an hour and was woken up by the steady ringing of his alarm clock around 9 AM. He quickly dressed and readied himself for the day, packing a first aid kit, some of his parents' clothes and various other items and papers he had printed out several hours ago into a suitcase before heading back to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza and entered the restaurant amidst a stream of children's happy shouts and chatter while playing arcade games and watching the four animatronics on stage. Mike kept his gaze averted from them as he made his way over to the manager who was fortunately not standing close to the stage, but was lingering near the entrance. Chica had instantly recognized the single man who entered the restaurant but made no sign of it and kept an eye on him as he approached their employer. Freddy also saw the man enter. He didn't make any move to signal that he did besides glancing at the chicken animatronic. Chica glanced back at him and flicked her gaze towards Bonnie to see if he knew as well.

The manager stood there with his arms crossed, watching the four robotic constructs. He turned to see Mike walking up to him and raised a brow. "Schmidt. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home or something?"

The brunette looked slightly nervous but responded steadily. "Yes sir, but I need clarification on some things. The security guard before me said it was under company policy that we're not allowed to talk to anyone outside of this place about our occupation, which leaves me only being able to ask you." Mike sincerely hoped that he didn't worsen the animatronics' situation, as it was already bad off as it was by speaking to the manager.

Bonnie hadn't noticed yet, but looked over at Chica, tilting his head only the slightest bit, feeling quite confused as to what they were looking at. The chicken animatronic looked back at their night watchman before flicking her gaze back at the rabbit one, hoping he'll realize. The manager furrowed his brows and nodded. "Go on. What kind of questions do you have? I may or may not be able to answer them." In all honesty, he was pretty concerned as to what Mike wanted to know, not sure if he could answer it or not. Or if he even wanted to.

Mike could feel the gazes from the animatronics and he silently hoped they wouldn't jump down and tear him apart. "What happened during the Bite of '87?" He knew there was something more to the story. The newspaper clippings on the walls had minimal information, but after delving through countless articles on the web, Mike was certain that the company itself had something to do with it. Foxy couldn't become bedraggled in one night from a single attack, and the news never did state who it was that had their frontal lobe bitten off- whether they were male or female, or more importantly... Whether they were a child or adult and didn't reveal anything about their occupation, family, background history and record if they were.

Bonnie glanced over and saw Mike, before instantly looking back over at Chica and nodded. Signaling that he knew what they were looking at. The manager looked around then grabbed a hold of the brunette's arm, taking him to his office. Chica's eyes widened when she saw the night watchman disappear with the manager and she narrowed her eyes slightly. Freddy also watched the two disappear, and his urge to kill Mike only strengthened upon his doing so. Bonnie looked over at Chica and watched the chicken animatronic closely who tore her gaze away and met Bonnie's own, eyes burning. The purple rabbit one frowned and shook his head slowly, giving her a sympathetic look. She looked distraught for a split second before a little girl cried out their names and Chica immediately plastered a quick smile on her face while Bonnie smiled and looked at the kids.

Once inside the office, the manager turned to face the night watchman. "Mike. I don't know why you want to know about this... But, I guess I'll have to tell you. It was late at night, probably around three in the morning or so. The night guard... He was about a 53 year old man. He was one of the managers for a big animatronic company and he had run out of power. Foxy was the first one here. He uh... Attacked the man, as you heard."

Mike already knew the answer to his next question, but he needed verbal confirmation. "Excuse me sir, but what exactly is an animatronic company? Does this place work under one?" The manager sighed and sat at the end of his desk. "Yes, we do. It's a company where they put together and create animatronics." The brunette sat down on the chair opposite, noticing something peculiar on the filing cabinet beside the desk. It was something small and shaped sort of like a... Cupcake? Mike blinked and looked away, suddenly feeling as if he should leave, and quick. He knew what it was now, there was someone watching the restaurant at night while he and the phone guy before him were busy fighting off imminent death. His hands clenched into fists by his sides and he forced himself to speak calmly. "Sir, you leave as soon as this place closes for the night, right? Is there anyone else besides me who comes here later during late hours?" The manager narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, standing up. "Why are you suddenly so interested? I do leave after this place closes, and there are some workers who come in and... Do some, /extra/ work on the animatronics. They are here for a few hours. Usually until about ten or eleven."

"I figured since I work here that I should know more about the operations that take place during the night." Mike responded coolly, heart beginning to beat faster as he recognized the small lenses in the cupcake's eyes. He could vaguely see the layout of the security guard's office and he forced himself to meet the manager's gaze squarely. "Yes, well... I was actually meaning to give this to you. By you coming in, it saved me the money of calling or sending this to you. The manager walked around to his desk and picked up the paper, walking back over and sitting on the desk, handing Mike the pink slip. "I'm sorry to inform you, but... Your services will no longer be needed. I will need you to leave your key here or drop it off tonight for the new watchman."

"W-Wait, what...?" The brunette took the notice from him and stared down at in disbelief, trying to make sense of why he would be fired and read over the reasons, finding them vague and possibly overused. "... May I drop it off now, sir?" He felt a stab of guilt when he thought about the animatronics before an idea came to mind and he looked up. "I need to retrieve some things from... The office, anyways."

The manager sighed and stood up straight once again, nodding. "Yes, of course. I apologize for this, but... It's really for the best." He smiled sympathetically but honestly didn't care at all. He neither cared no felt any sympathy for Mike and any other night watchman the company had ridden themselves of before. Mike could tell that the smile was fake. After staring into dark spaces with cold, flickering lights for seven nights, the former night watchman could detect the empathetic glint in the other's eyes, but he only nodded in agreement and left the office compliantly, keeping his head held high even as he passed the animatronics where they were standing on the stage and headed into the security guard's office. Chica had glared briefly at Mike when she saw him pass them by, and looked back at Bonnie and Freddy, giving them a look as if to say that yes, he had in fact betrayed them and they should off him when he comes back that night.

Freddy nodded and grinned at her. The brunette was definitely going to pay for what he had done. He was pissed and he was going to take him down when he returned. And he was going to enjoy every second of it. Bonnie also looked over at Chica and had an evil glint in his eye. He knew that the night watchman had betrayed them and he was also getting excited for the night. Chica smirked back at them, already thinking of the many ways they can make the human endure intolerable pain before cutting his life short. In the meantime, Foxy simply sat in the back of Pirate's Cove, just thinking and staring at the wall. He was still really upset about mike. The way he bolted out of there and tore out of the parking lot at high speeds. "Why would he do that..?" He questioned aloud to the echoing room. He couldn't bring himself to understand the man's actions and for some unknown reason found himself actually worried for him.

Mike closed both doors once he reached his former office and quickly snapped pictures of the newspaper clippings, key inscriptions and the wiring for the cameras as well as the generator system. Never knew when this would come in handy. Afterwards, he tidied up the desk and left the key on the center before leaving the restaurant, driving off to a Home Depot-esque store and had a copy of the key made with the picture he had.

The brunette returned home with the copy of the key and began clearing up his two spare rooms and transferred everything he had packed earlier from his car to the trunk of his father's larger car. After going out and purchasing a few more items, he returned home and took a quick nap, unsure about how he was going to be able to avoid the new night guard's notice tonight. He eventually figured that he wouldn't know the blind spots of the camera, rendering him unable to spot him in the darkness that easily and he shuddered at the thought of the animatronics getting to him first. He really wished the guy luck, then thought better of it, knowing that it was going to be someone from the manufacturing company again.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a little after an hour that the pizzeria closed and the men who came in to do patch work on the animatronics were there, however that was not the only thing they did. The workers made fun of the robotic constructs and pushed them around, forcing them to clean the restaurant under their snickers and careless jeers. They deserted the pizzeria around eleven, leaving the animatronics tired and back in their places. They had relentlessly worked Foxy harder than the others since he was almost out of commission anyways. It would be easier to say that they couldn't fix him, and neither of them wanted to anyways.

Mike reached the restaurant and parked a little ways off from it, taking the first aid kit which he had placed inside of a suitcase along with several rolls of bandages and folded clothing with him inside. He entered the diner and saw that the animatronics were still in place on the stage and he swallowed nervously, heading past them quietly towards the security guard's office and quickly laid out some maps on the cleared desk before checking the time.

11:55.

Huh. Looks like the new night guard wasn't very punctual. He took advantage of this to close both doors and habitually checked the cameras and hallway lights as he was used to doing nervously, but with renewed vigor. He knew the animatronics would be furious with him for leaving suddenly the night before but he was hoping this would appease them. He actually smiled a bit as he watched as time ticked down.

11:57, 11:58...

Mike held the pad tightly and kept his eyes trained on the camera feed of the Stage and Pirate's Cove.

11:59, 12:00.

It was time.

Freddy and Bonnie took little to no time in making their way off of the stage and immediately headed off to the night guard's room. They didn't know he got fired and were honestly confused as to why he had a suitcase with him. They walked to the room and stood outside the doors, Freddy being the first to speak. "Let us in, Mike. And we might go easy on you." Chica gave the brown bear animatronic a disapproving look, wanting for them to exact their revenge on him immediately. Foxy knew that the night watchman was back, but didn't want to take any part in harming the man. He still didn't know why, but he only knew he just didn't. So he simply sat in Pirate's Cove, ignoring everyone else as they had made their way to the office.

"O-Okay, but can you promise me one thing first?" The brunette swallowed nervously, standing ready by the desk. "It depends on what you're wanting." Freddy growled out as Bonnie kept hitting the door, demanding to be let in. "I-I have something I need to show you, and I need help with something important." The night watchman gulped, dragging the chair underneath the generator. Freddy laughed a bit evilly, throwing his head back. "What makes you think we'll help you after you /left/ us! And probably told the manager this morning. Yes. We did see that."

"What are you talking about- oh! Well, I had a panic attack last night since the robots who have been trying to kill me nearly did, then they started talking and said stuff about being slaves to a manufacturing company, so yeah, I flipped the fuck out." Mike rubbed the back of his head. "I spoke to my bo- former boss about the Bite of '87 since I did some research after I got home. Anyways, the new guy will be coming soon, but I want to help you guys out since I see you're not that... Murderous, I guess." Chica's eyes flickered and she gave Freddy and Bonnie a confused look. Foxy sighed and eventually began making his way out of Pirate's Cove, moving slowly.

"Former boss...? Did you quit or get fired and why would you ask him about that night? The watchman got what he deserved and Foxy got wrongfully blamed. So many people don't understand what really happened. And... I guess I understand why you freaked out and left." Freddy sighed. Bonnie shrugged and listened to their exchange, instinctively standing close to Chica. Foxy was now in the hallway near the other animatronics but still a good distance away. He didn't want to get too close at the moment.

"Like I said, every article I read left out details concerning the Bite. Nothing I found last night matched up with what the company had said, and I figured it would be good if I just asked." He glanced at the empty spot where the cupcake once stood, having shoved it inside one of the drawers in the desk. "The manager told me what happened and then handed me my termination notice after I kept asking for more information, however everything was set up this morning." Mike took a deep breath before continuing. "I found a camera disguised as a cupcake sitting on top of his file cabinet which showed a clear view of this office, meaning that someone was watching each night guard's movements. I hid the cupcake that was here on this desk after turning it off so that the person or people on the other side wouldn't see or hear anything we said or did now." Chica looked at Bonnie and back at the door now in wonder. Freddy wore a look of repulsion.

"They were watching...? Why would they watch the night guards? I don't understand… Why would they sit there and watch us do that to them knowing it was going to happen? These people are disgusting and ruthless. Do you understand why we want them dead and gone so badly now?"

Bonnie shook his head, sighing. "This whole thing is just so... Messed up. I honestly don't even know how to respond to it. What's the right way to respond to something like this?" Foxy was leaning against the wall, not really socializing with the others but listening. "I don't understand how people can be so cruel and say that /we/ are the monsters." Chica sighed.

"I don't know." Mike stood up on the chair which wobbled a bit and reached up to the generator, not quite able to reach it. "I don't know, I'm still trying to understand how I ended up being hired by that psycho- aahhh!" The former night watchman nearly fell but caught his balance before he could. "Darn it, this stupid chair! Um, so can I let you guys in now without you killing me, or should I continue to risk my life anyways trying to reach. This. Fucking. Tag! Argh!" Mike growled in frustration as he continued to try and get a hold of the tag which was attached to the generator. Freddy looked at each of the animatronics, trying to see what they thought. He decided that he wouldn't kill him and hopefully he was truly going to help them. "Let us in. We won't harm you, I promise." Bonnie nodded towards Freddy and grinned before he turned to Chica, smiling. "Hopefully everything goes alright..." Foxy looked down and stood up, walking over to the others and stood behind them as Chica smiled back and took the purple rabbit animatronic's hand in her own.

"Okay, good- wait, no almost got it!" The brunette cried out as the chair moved out from under him and he fell to the floor with a crash. Fortunately, he had managed to yank the tag off and he stood up, looking it over with a grin. "Yes!" Mike set it down on the map and made his way over to the door, hesitating to press the button. "Y-You really won't kill me?" The former night watchman stared at the metal door, seeing the same fear return to pale his complexion. "Yes. We really won't kill you. Unless you try to pull a fast one on us, then we won't even hesitate." Freddy grinned and stepped a bit away from the door, telling the others to take a step back as well. He didn't want to be too close to the door when it opened and risk scaring the brunette and cause him to take off again.

_Where's the bear?! Is he in the Supply Closet? The brunette anxiously looked through the camera feed of the stage. The dimly lit room which was illuminated by a single light bulb offered little to no protection from the wrath of the murderous robotic beings which haunted him during each shift. This was his third night and he had spent too much time keeping an eye on Pirate's Cove and the East Hall Corner and had forgotten to check the Stage. _

_No no no no no no no-_

_The bear… Must find the bear! Mike quickly looked through the camera feed of the Diner andwas confronted with a horrific faceful of artificial yellow face complete with an orange beak and two sets of teeth. The night watchman reeled back, nearly falling from his chair as he dropped the pad on the desk and checked his power._

_67%_

_He was still good. The brunette sighed as he leaned back, closing his eyes for a brief moment before a faint, taunting laugh broke the seemingly calm silence. Last night was a close one, Mike recalled as he sat upright and picked up the pad again, shivering. He was able to locate where the chicken was- in the Diner- and the rabbit was in the Supply Closet. How fortunate. He was still disturbed though since he wasn't able to find the bear but he remembered that the last time he /had/ seen the leader of the animatronic band was…_

_The brunette looked over the camera feed of the East Hall and found his living nightmare peering into the camera. Mike swallowed nervously and broke eye contact. Was it… Sentient? Were they all sentient? He looked back to see that the brown bear robotic construct was still there and hasn't moved the slightest bit. It was like looking into the large glassy eyes of the Sumerian votive statues. Unfeeling, cold and empty. The sight was beginning to extremely unnerve the night watchman, more so than seeing the chicken had before._

_How much longer did he have to go?!_

Mike took a deep breath and pressed the button with a shaky hand, retracting the door and immediately took a step back. Seeing the animatronics in the darkness brought back memories spent cowering in fear in the sickly lit office, with only two doors and hallway lights as well as the camera pad for protection. The former night watchman felt a wave of nausea and light headedness at the sight of their lights and he gripped onto the edge of the wooden desk, eyes wide and throat dry as he began shaking in fear.

_It was pitch black, and the only sound which emitted throughout the room was the scraping of metal as the left door retracted, leaving the brunette absolutely defenseless. Mike glanced despairingly at the clock, seeing as it was 5:57 AM. Only a few more minutes and his shift would be over…_

_The familiar tune of Toreador from the Overture of Carmen began to play faintly as a glowing face of flickering lights peered out at him from the left door. Mike held his breath and willed himself to stay as still as it possibly could as Freddy made his featured appearance in his office. The song eventually faded away, leaving its last few haunting chimes to trail along before silence fell upon the room-_


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**: Thank you for following and favoriting this story everyone! And I'm terribly sorry I couldn't update sooner. We sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter as it leaves more insight to future events. ^^ As of late, Hunter and I haven't been able to rp so I have been organizing our past replies into different chapters, and am doing so even now as we speak! Chapter 4 and 5 were originally going to be added together, but it would be far better if it were separate, so sorry! I promise I'll try to upload it sometime either this week or in the weekend! Anyways, thank you so much for support! =D It's great to be a part of this wonderful new fandom!

Chapter 4

Foxy pushed past the other animatronics and into the room when he saw how Mike was acting and stood about two feet away from the frightened brunette, a worried look on his face. "Mike, Are you okay? We aren't going to hurt you. I swear we won't. You're okay now, nothing's going to happen to you." Freddy grunted and growled quietly at being pushed, eyebrows furrowed as Foxy began speaking to the man. He had never seen this side of Foxy and to be quite frank, it scared him a little. Foxy had always been a stone cold murderer. And even if he wasn't, he never showed his soft side.

The brunette was frozen in shock, but listened carefully to the animatronic's words as his heart rate began to slow until it was restored to a somewhat steady pace. "S-Sorry. It's just- you know." He sighed, turning away from them. "I-I still have to get used to this." Mike shook his head and looked back at the map. "Anyways, I uh, did some research- oh right, I already said that... Umm, so I have a few maps from the town here that I thought could come in handy. The manager did say this place is operating under "a" animatronic manufacturing company, meaning that it's probably just one in this area." The nervousness in the former night watchman's movements and tone began to fade away the more he studied the map, reading over the streets and different icons on it. "If we want to stop them, we'll need to break in somehow and destroy their main power source."

Chica frowned. "We can't leave though, our programming renders us as useless puppets from 6:00 to 11:00 AM." Freddy sighed. "Which means we would have to do it at night when someone else is supposed to be watching us... This is not going to be easy, but it has to be done nonetheless. We shouldn't worry about that quite yet. We will get everything figured out. For now, let's focus on where we are supposed to be going and how we are going to get there." Foxy smiled softly to himself at seeing Mike calm down. he stepped back away from the man and leaned against the wall, simply watching everything else take place. He would only talk if he truly needed to or if someone talked to him first.

"I think I can help change that." The brunette thought it over. "... D-Do you have an exoskeleton lying around here somewhere? I used to be good with hacking into websites and making programs on my computer. Maybe I can undo yours when I learn how to work with it first." He glanced at the animatronics. "Is it your skeleton that's programmed, or the suits that you wear?" Chica looked at the other three animatronics curiously. "I'm not sure, do you know guys know?"

"We do have one, and it is the exoskeleton that is programmed." Freddy turned to the other two animatronics nearest to him and nodded towards them. "Bonnie, Chica, go to the supply room and get the extra exoskeleton for Mike. This may be our only way out of this and he is going to need that as soon as possible. So don't get distracted."

Bonnie nodded and squeezed Chica's hand lightly. "You got it boss. We will hurry." Chica squeezed back and also gave him an affirmative nod before leaving. "Okay." Mike looked over at the drawers on the desk and knelt down, pulling them open and started to rummage through them. "Are there any tools in here?" Freddy shook his head. "There shouldn't be, but we might have some in the supply closet." The night watchman pulled out several papers complete with children's drawings of the animatronic band, a few portraying them with black eyes and one of Foxy which was ripped down the middle. Mike blinked in surprise and looked up at the pictures taped to the wall beside the poster above the desk, noticing the creepy similarities between them and sighed as he straightened up. "Man, how did I get caught up in all of this? I didn't just want to work here only for the money, even though I said so earlier… I really wanted to see you guys again, just not in this way." Freddy looked at him, surprised. "Really...? You actually wanted to see us again? We really aren't much to look at though... We never really were." Foxy smiled to himself, tilting his head. "It's always a sad day when you realize your childhood is never what it seems."

"Of course!" Mike was silent for a moment before he looked at the two animatronics. "... My parents took me here for my eleventh birthday, just the three of us since I didn't have any friends other than you guys. And now years later I decided to come back and work here for the money and because I have a ton of happy memories from this place... But then you guys tried to kill me each night and I didn't know what to do." He glanced back at the wall where the pictures hung as a silent accusation and sighed."I was torn between leaving this place or finding out the truth, and even after I lost my job here I still can't leave!" The brunette shook his head slowly. "I must be insane to try and help my would-be killers, but I don't care... I used to view you guys as my only friends before, so I still care about all of you even now after everything you put me through..."

Freddy listened to everything the former night watchman had to say and nodded. "Well, thank you for helping us. I mean, we are really sorry for trying to kill you. We honestly didn't know that you were someone we could trust. But now that you're with us, you can't get out of it. S-"

"Let him go home. He obviously doesn't belong here. What is he even going to do?! There is no way he can help us. No one can help us. We are a lost cause and there is nothing anyone can do! So just let him go. Let him be done with us." The red fox animatronic cut him off, but Mike shook his head. "No, he's right. I know too much now, so I can't be ignorant of what is really going on here anymore." He glanced at the maps and looked back up at the animatronics. "I'll reprogram you guys so you can leave this place, and I know you have nowhere else to go so I cleared out two rooms at my house ahead of time so you could hide out there until all this is over." The former night watchman got back to his feet and tried to ignore the arm on the floor as he picked up the tag from the generator that he laid on the desk. "This generator has been here since the restaurant first opened, and the writing is a bit faint but I can still make out some of it... #0000419384. That's the distribution code. Now, if we can just trace it somehow it'll lead us to the distribution center where we can find out where the manufacturing factories are."

Foxy stayed quiet and looked down. He thought for sure that Mike would flee as soon as he got the chance. If they were causing him so much stress, why on earth would he stay? It made no sense to him whatsoever. Freddy nodded. "Alright. Hopefully we can track it down. If we cant how are we going to find the factory? Do you have a backup plan or something? I mean, that would be kind of helpful." The brunette glanced at the pad on the desk and picked it up, looking over the feed from each room besides the kitchen since there was still yet only audio there. "I do as a matter of fact... This has been here since the pizzeria first opened too. If I took it back home and hack into it, I might be able to find the factories that way as well... This thing really saved my life a ton of times." Mike sighed and held the pad close. "Anyways, that's Plan B. Plan C would be for us to camp out at my place until we can find the location by looking through old library archives and doing extensive research."

"You really have thought about this a lot, haven't you? Do we really mean that much to you?" Freddy asked after a brief pause. Foxy looked up at Mike, then looked away. He didn't understand what he was feeling and he didn't really like it either. It was really new and weird. "Believe it or not, yes. I very nearly bought you guys a fruit basket in the hopes that you would quit hunting me down!" The brunette caught the red fox animatronic's gaze and blinked, wondering if he was alright but didn't make any inquiry about it. "A fruit basket? Seriously? What would we do with a fruit basket? Food fight? We can't exactly eat the fruit." Freddy rolled his eyes and chuckled quietly. "I know! I realized that only after I bought one." Mike couldn't help but laugh a bit at the memory. "I left it on my neighbor's doorstep and tried to think of something else to give you guys, but I couldn't come up with anything else." The brown bear animatronic laughed a bit and nodded. "That was definitely not the smartest thing to do. Tell me again why we are letting you help us?" He shook his head, sitting down on the desk.

Mike reflexively flinched away but relaxed. "I don't know, maybe it's because I'm the first human who agreed to and who cares about you guys who is not a child? Although technically I've always loved you all since I was a kid, so I'm not sure if that counts."

"Oh, it counts because even if kids knew about the shit that went on when they left this place, they wouldn't be able to do anything. If they told their parents they wouldn't believe them either. So the fact that you're helping us now is just... Thank you." Mike smiled, looking at the leader of the animatronic band sadly. "No, thank all of you for being my friend back then... I'm just returning the favor."

It certainly made for a rather odd scene, having a former night guard and an animatronic bent on revenge to be seen conversing in the late hours of the night. It was almost surreal in knowing that not too long ago the four robotic constructs were dead set on ending the brunette's life and now they were slowly repairing the walls which had crumbled down over the years between them. Age really /is/ just a number, Mike decided at that moment. He was no longer surprised in the least that he didn't hate the animatronics for terrorizing him before. He must have known- at least his memories had, and reminded him that the quartet were actually good- what? Constructs? Beings? People? In any case, Mike felt a rush of gratitude and sympathy towards them and their plight, and at the peak of his churning emotions he reached over and wrapped his arms around the taller brown bear animatronic, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much." His voice quavered not from fear this time, but from choking emotions which made it difficult for him to speak.

Freddy's eyes widened a bit. He did not think this man before him would ever be hugging him in such a way. Honestly, he had never truly been hugged. Unless it was by a kid but usually that was just because their parents wanted a picture or something of the sort. he liked the feeling of the hug. And after a few seconds he hugged the man back, just as tight. He patted his back, grinning. "You're welcome. It feels so nice to know someone out there actually cares about people like us." Foxy watched as the two embraced, a burning feeling swelling up inside him. This was nothing like the one before. It was more dark and angry. He hated this feeling and he wanted it gone, but as he watched them it only grew. He wanted to be the one to hug Mike and he wanted to be the one being thanked. He didn't want Freddy to hug him like that, he didn't have the right. But he did. Foxy knew Freddy had more of a right than anyone. He shook his head and walked out of the room silently, making sure not to draw attention to himself as he sighed and retreated to Pirate's Cove, hoping this feeling would go away.

The former night watchman smiled, feeling tears well in his eyes as he hugged the other back. "I can't understand why anyone wouldn't care." He noticed Foxy leave and drew away, peering out at the darkened hallway and flicked on the lights to see West Hall empty. "Where did Foxy go?" Mike frowned a bit, then remembered he had the pad and took it up, scanning the cameras for any tell tale signs of the animatronic's whereabouts. Freddy raised a brow and shrugged. "I have no clue. I was meaning to talk to you about him, actually... Since the Bite of '87... No one ever even asks about him. Plus, you've seen the shape he is in. The workers won't fix him. Is there any way you could help him out...? He seems to really take a liking to you."

"I think so! I mean, I don't have much experience in the medical field but I did bring my first aid kit with me- oh right, I almost forgot this! The brunette opened up his suitcase and removed the first aid kit from the case as well as the assortment of neatly folded and cleanly pressed clothes. "These belonged to my parents, but you guys clearly need new clothes."

"Woah... We haven't had new clothes since... Ever, actually. This is really nice of you. You know, its one thing to help us but you didn't have to go this far as to bring us clothes."

"Well, I figured why not? If anything, this can replace that failure of a peace offering nights ago." Mike chuckled. "It's kind of plain for now, but I'm planning on changing that later once you're all settled in. I just need to see if the clothes would fit first." Freddy nodded and held the shirt up, looking it over. "I hope it fits." He chuckled and pulled the shirt on. It was a bit small but wasn't so bad. It actually fit him pretty well. "It's... Perfect."

"Great." The brunette smiled and wrote the distribution number down on the map and began fiddling with the pad. "Does this thing have any other use other than functioning as a camera viewer?" The brown bear animatronic thought about it for a few seconds before shaking his head. "No, not that I know of. All I do know is that it's for the cameras."

"Hmm, it'll be cool if I could hack into the factory's camera system through this once we get in."

"That could work. Since you're good with computers and all, you should be able to do that."

Mike nodded as he met Freddy's gaze.

Their plan would be settling into motion soon enough.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note**: Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews everyone! Unfortunately, Hunter and I have not been able to continue our rp, so for the time being enjoy some improvised scenes which I can guarantee you will not be superfluous in any way, but will become vital later on in the story! On another note, Chapter 5 will cut from the previous scene to give some insight on what happened to Phone Guy, but the reasons for which he is gone from the pizzeria will be revealed in a future chapter. Once again, thank you and don't forget to R&R!

Chapter 5

The light was faint in the room, its only source being the open doorway at the head of the stairs. The occasional clunk of metal hitting the wooden floorboards sounded several feet away from the back which caught a single blonde's attention. Daniel Atchison dropped half of an animatronic arm onto the table nearest to him and glanced back to see several other workers taking apart a newly brought robotic construct. The glow in its eyes had long since died out by the time it was dragged down to the basement of the factory, its limbs chained to its metallic torso as the factory employees tossed it onto the floor. Despite knowing that it was no longer "living", the blonde shuddered as a part of the animatronic's jaw fell open and its soulless black eyes stared into his own after one of the workers gave its head a hefty kick before starting up the rickety steps, leaving him alone with his new companion in the bleak darkness which fell upon the both of them as the basement door swung shut.

Daniel inched towards the animatronic as his eyes adjusted to the sudden absence of light, figuring it would be far better for him to reach it before its image became clearer and less opaque. The former night watchman cautiously knelt by its side, studying the patches of synthetic pink fur which once would have entirely covered its welded surface. Loose wires were strung haphazardly within its interior and the blunt objects inside of the suit pierced into and bent the spinal cord of its endoskeleton. He stood up a moment after and moved behind it before reaching down to drag it gingerly over to the corner where the other animatronics lay. Daniel had been luckier than most, the management had reassured him- but the blonde regretted signing the contract which ensured he would not disclose any information regarding his experiences at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and instead allowed him and his work detail to be transferred directly to the factory where the animatronics were produced before being shipped off to any paying customers. It didn't take a genius to figure out what would have been his other option, Daniel surmised. Retaining the information he knew was already a risk to the company. That much was evident when he had declared his resignation after nearly losing it on the fourth night of his work shift due to an extremely close call, but the manager wasn't so keen to let him go. The blonde agreed to work as a waiter for the pizzeria during the day but was blindfolded and thrown into the back of a van by several men after he exited Freddy's at 10:00 PM later on within the week.

The next few days had gone by in a blur, his memory only being able to recall sleepless nights spent in utter fear and confusion while numerous voices complete with the clanking of metal and static from audio animatronics melded into a stabbing cacophony of pain and terror. He could vaguely remember a blur of faces standing above him which strongly resembled that of his manager and what appeared to be those of the company's higher standing officials based on their confident stature and non-discriminating eye as they heeded the interrogations with absolute detachment to their captive victim and his plight which they had sovereignty over in terms of regulation. It was only after one of the sympathetic workers who had discovered him by chance had appealed in Daniel's stead that the management looked into his case and decided that he was a minor threat now that he was in the factory, resulting in them ceasing their interrogations and instead forced him to work there as a low level employee.

Despite the fortunate turn of events, this came as little comfort to the former night watchman since his new job deigns that he remains in contact with animatronics at all times, and after his dealings with the four animatrons back at the pizzeria ,the blonde was not so keen to comply. Having but denied his position only once with the department head he now labored under, Daniel was informed that he would either agree and go along with his occupation or face the grisly torture of being stuffed into an empty animatronic suit by the already programmed animatrons lingering in the darker recesses of the factory.

The blonde readily agreed to the former and went about meeting his work quota without fail each day, while still remaining under complete surveillance of his fellow co-workers as he did so. It had been about two months since then and he was finally given some lee-way, the reason behind this being that the management was satisfied with his compliance and figured he was "reformed" through the uniformity of the factory and their operations. Daniel hated to admit, but his new job was simpler than his night shift had been. He only needed to interact with broken and used down animatronics after they were considered to be in total disrepair or their programming was off and their actions went awry. Their sound boxes were almost always either disabled or smashed in by the time their metallic bodies were sent back to the factory, where they were immediately stripped for parts which could be salvaged or dissected for anything valuable within their core before being burned and melted down, some while still in commission.

Daniel had crossed paths with a recently sent back animatronic and found himself dismayed despite the chill which ran down his spine at the sight of the battered robotic construct. Its core was already pried open with what appeared to be by a crowbar which one of its handlers still held in hand. Its head was crushed in, and its eyes were wide, the cores filled with a distraught expression mixed with pain and fear. The blonde was frozen in place as the run down robotic construct seemed to fix his gaze on him, however the moment lasted but a few seconds which ended when the handlers shoved it impatiently, ignoring its wince as they roughly dragged it down the hall. The animatronic's head was lowered, terror brimming in its tired eyes as it tried to keep pace with the men, not wanting to give them any reason to lash out. "Shame it couldn't work." A factory workman tsked as he stood by, watching the metallic body being relentlessly hauled away. "What do you mean?" Daniel turned to him, surprised he hadn't noticed the other before he spoke. "They were experimenting on it downstairs. Mentioned something about synaptic connections, like they could install a real brain in place instead of their metal shells." The man shook his head, laughing. "As if that'll ever work! They're robots. Unknowing, unfeeling robots. It'll be like stuffing a beating heart into a dead corpse, yeah? Only a miracle could humanize 'em."

_No…_

Daniel dragged his eyes away from the now empty hallway and inwardly screamed.

_You're wrong, they aren't unfeeling. They know what we're doing- what you're doing- to them. They are /alive/ and they can feel everything the same way we do!_

But instead, he simply plastered on a genial smile and nodded in agreement.

"Yes." The blonde fixed his gaze at the end of the hall, as if the stark cold whiteness of the walls were moving and pulsing around him and the blinking LED light of the fire alarm was the only remaining substance in existence which rooted him in place, forcing his heels to sink through the reflective white and gray tiles and plant him firmly onto the ground. The image of the pained animatronic burned his vision, ingraining itself within the depths of his cellular memory and forever standing as a cold, glaring reminder of another crime which humanity has committed.

"Only a miracle."


End file.
